State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2004 - Library

World review of fisheries and aquaculture
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agricultural planting season, when it is used to supplement wild
indigenous foods.
A distinction between aquaculture and capture fisheries should be
made here. The raising of fish through aquaculture requires both time
and money. As a consequence, relief efforts should focus on restarting
production where aquaculture operations had already been established
and where the necessary skills are available. By contrast, the capture
of wild fish can provide immediate income and food (animal proteins)
as soon as the means of production are renewed. This can be crucial
in times of conflict or acute crises. Furthermore, in the case of capture
fisheries, entrance into the sector and access to the fishing ground
are generally non-discriminatory. Fishing equipment such as nets and
hooks are easy to transport, unlike livestock. Some fishing activities,
such as the use of hooks and lines, do not require high levels of skills to
be developed, and can thus provide children and women, who are the
most vulnerable, with proteins soon after displacement.
Moreover, fisheries interventions offer multiple side activities and
job opportunities such as net repair, boatbuilding, fish processing, trade
and basket-making. Fisheries interventions can contribute to promoting
the role of women through training in improved fish-processing and
preservation techniques.
In spite of the significant role fisheries can and should play in relief
and rehabilitation efforts, fisheries interventions do not always receive
adequate attention in emergency operations. Until this situation is
addressed and the potential impact of fisheries interventions is realized,
the costs will continue to be borne by fishers and their communities.
employment opportunities in professions associated with culture practices is also
evident in other countries.
In many industrialized countries, notably Japan and European countries,
employment in fishing – and, as a consequence, in associated land-based professions
– has been declining for several years. This is the result of several factors combined,
including lower catches, programmes to reduce fishing capacity and the increased
productivity brought about by technical progress. In the European Union (EU-15) 6 the
decline in the number of fishers in recent years averaged about 2 percent per year.
In Norway, employment in fishing has been decreasing for several years (Table 8).
In 2002, about 18 650 people were employed in fishing (excluding fish farming),
representing a decline of 8 percent compared with 2000 and almost 20 percent
compared with five years before. The largest decline has occurred in fishing as a main
occupation, which accounts for more than 75 percent of the total. In Iceland, average
employment in fisheries was fairly stable in the five years to 2002, although there
were seasonal variations; however, the share of fishing and fish processing – where the
majority of workers are women – as a source of employment, dropped to 8 percent in
2002 from 10 percent five years earlier. In Japan, the numbers of marine fishery workers
6
The members of the European Union prior to 1 May 2004: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.